The Great Recession was the economic event that shaped the Millennials' prospects just as they were ready to enter the job market. They stayed at home, went back to school, took advantage of the gig economy and eventually trickled into the workforce. At first, there was a lot of interest in catering to these novel consumers and fresh new workers. Brands wanted to sell to them and companies wanted to hire them.Then, when they were just about to embark on their adult life (albeit later than the previous generations), the Millennial bashing began. Their public digital lives and willingness to share their opinion came back to bite them. They were pegged as late-blooming, lazy, entitled spendthrifts who spent most of their time socializing and skirting responsibility.

Every savvy marketer knows that all shoppers are not created equal. It can be easy to get caught up in the latest buzz or stuck in age-old assumptions - e.g. shoppers demand personalization; consumers always love promotions; if it's organic, it will sell! - but marketers quickly learn if they spread their brand and their resources too thin, their message will get lost and they'll lose customers along the way.

A well done segmentation is often the most powerful tool in a research arsenal. It helps humanize a customer base, optimize marketing efforts, create a common lexicon across organizations, and prioritize targeting and growth opportunities. As US based commerce and technology expands across new borders, it is paramount that the decision to develop a locally or globally driven segmentation approach is carefully explored.

As a client-side researcher conducting segmentation research, it is important to collaborate, communicate and tell stories about the segments across key areas of your organization in order to ensure that the findings are used effectively once the research is complete. To set yourself up to win, be sure to do these three things:

Segmentations are one of the most flexible and effective methods available to market researchers. There are many outstanding applications for a well executed segmentation to help drive your business forward. When most people think of segmentation, they think about the traditional combination of an A&U with a segmentation to understand your category. This is a fantastic piece of foundational research that every brand should have, but there are many other uses for segmentations that can help drive your business forward.

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Every savvy marketer knows that all shoppers are not created equal. It can be easy to get caught up in the latest buzz or stuck in age-old assumptions - e.g. shoppers demand personalization; consumers always love promotions; if it's organic, it will sell! - but marketers quickly learn if they spread their brand and their resources too thin, their message will get lost and they'll lose customers along the way.It's time for marketers to get back to the basics and know your shoppers.

As market researchers, we're keenly aware that sometimes there's a gap between what people say and what they do, between aspiration and behavior. That's not because people lie or deliberately mislead (although occasionally they do). Rather, it's often because everyday behaviors and assumptions are so routine and deep-seated they fade into the background of our lives. The implicit and taken-for-granted can be hard to notice, recall, and describe. And yet, some of the deepest insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors lie in those unconscious routines and tacit assumptions. So how do we see the invisible and hear the unspoken?

LeBron James making his move to LA has been one of the most talked-about decisions in the sports world. His four-year, $154 million contract ($38,500,000 a year) will make him the highest paid NBA player ever. There's a new legend in town, but one thing that really separates King James from former Lakers greats is the heavy economic opportunity he has brought to each of the cities in which he's played. The study of this has been dubbed "LeConomics," and big brands and local establishments alike need to understand the impact of this economic force.

The proliferation of smartphone apps, wearable trackers, smart clothes and other health tech has given us access to more information about our fitness and nutrition than ever before. But does collecting all this data make us any healthier?

What is AR? AR, meaning Augmented Reality, is an emerging technology that blends the physical world with elements of computer generated imagery and/or animation. A great example of this is the facial filters that Snapchat offers.

The lean approach to startups, innovation and product development is all the rage - and for good reason. There are many benefits to the lean approach, including quicker time to market, reduced development costs, more innovative products and improved customer relationships. However, companies outside the web/digital space can struggle executing on some of the principles of lean development, and even technology companies need a clear vision and strategy, along with processes for collecting and analyzing feedback, to embrace lean principles. Market research can bridge those gaps!